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I don’t have time to make professional applesauce. As much as I would love a perfectly creamy sauce, the extra peeling and straining time it requires isn’t a priority for me. So I make this wonderful –

Easy Crockpot Applesauce Recipe: Homemade Applesauce in a crockpot

For those of you who MUST HAVE measurements, use this as an opportunity to live on the wild side and throw those tablespoons away.

99% of the time spent making applesauce is in the peeling.

Yes, there’s no easy way around that except “many hands make light work.” I get all the kids helping, and we go to town. We use three individual peelers and two apple peeler corer slicer machine things.

The peeler/slicer never gets off all the peelings, but I do not worry, once it’s cooked and blended, no one will know that a few peeling were left.

First, fill the crock pot to the top. It takes a lot of apples.

Then just add a tiny bit of water (oh, maybe 1/2 cup or substitute some orange juice for a change), and sprinkle cinnamon on top. (I wait until the apples are cooked until I determine sweetener.)

I’m NOT giving you measurements. Everyone’s taste is different and typically, I just put a little bit of seasonings in at this point, a few cinnamon sticks, and then I add more seasoning to taste when it’s done cooking.

Now put the lid on tight and let it cook all day (high 3-4 hours, low 8-10ish). Or better yet, start is at night and you wake up to a house filled with such sweet scents, you’ll never want to leave.

Then take stick (immersion) blender and whiz it around until the desired consistency is reached.

No, I don’t pour it out into another bowl. That would make two dishes to wash. I just mix it right in the crock pot. No, I don’t put it through a food mill or strainer. Then it wouldn’t be the easiest ever applesauce. (For those who do not want any chunks at al,l or want perfect consistency, then strain it, but that adds on work that I do not have time for…this gets it done.)

Warning: it will smell so delicious that you’ll want to do a taste test right away. BEWARE, it will be really hot.

I scoop out a bit and do a quick cool with an ice cube. This allows me to taste it, and determine if I want more sugar/brown sugar or cinnamon.

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VOILA – you’re done!!

It freezes well, but honestly, we never have any left to freeze. I always want more when it’s finally cooked because my FULL crock pot has dwindled to half empty. Realize that you want to stuff that crock pot full, because the shrinkage is just part of the process that I accept, since it’s well worth the effort.

This recipe came as a result of our family trek to the mountains. Mountain apples are a must, and so is crockpot applesauce.